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20th
Feburary 2010
The Art
of Jonathan (Guy) Gladding
Award
winning fine artist Jonathan (Guy) Gladding,
captures St. Lucian “Joie De Vivre”
with his new series of works. The art exhibition
opens on Tuesday, the 23rd of February, with
the private viewing from 7.00pm – 9:00pm
at The Inner Gallery, Bois D Orange. The exhibition
continues until March 20th, from 10:00am to
6:00pm Mondays to Saturdays.
ARTIST STATEMENT
It is a real joy to be an artist. To have the
ability to give visual expression to the ideas
that are important to us; the things that stir
our emotions, fascinate, and inspire, and to
have the opportunity to continually try to develop
the technical skills so that we may better communicate
our ideas. It is as exciting as it is challenging.
And if there is one thing that is as rewarding
as the completion of a successful painting it’s
the thrill of sharing it with people who are
somehow able to form a similar meaning from
these little dabs of coloured mud as what inspired
us to paint them in the first place.
To say that there is a great deal of unpleasantness
in the world is sadly a gross understatement.
One does not have to look far to see the ugliness
and tragedy in life. Perhaps this makes it all
the more important that we remind ourselves
to see the beauty in the everyday things. Those
ordinary things around us that we may take for
granted but in fact make our lives rich. These
are the subjects I like to paint. It’s
not hard for me to see them but it’s not
so easy for me to paint them well: how to make
an image life-like and accurate without making
it look coldly photographic; how to record a
moment in time without making the composition
looking frozen;
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How
to choose a scene and create an image that honestly
tells a story about what our lives are like
and who we are. I can think of no more worthy
a task for an artist than that. If we are successful
in our work we become united in the shared truths
of the human experience and perhaps preserve
the things about our lives that we love but
can’t always hold on to.
One thing that I do have working for me is that
as far as I’m concerned I have the best
subject matter in the world: bright and engaging
children whose faces radiate warmth and openness,
self-confident people who take pride in tradition
and community spirit, and lush landscapes with
verdant greens and sparkling blues. Although
I did not grow up in the Caribbean I feel very
much a part of it now, and in gratitude to the
graciousness and generosity of my adopted home
I try my best to do my subject matter justice.
I hope that in years to come someone will be
able to look at one of my paintings and get
some sense of how life was in a certain place
and time and what the people were like. Perhaps
they might even identify a grandparent and smile
at the verve with which their grandmother played
“brown girl in the ring”, and how
she looked when she was young. Regardless of
who looks at these paintings and when, I hope
they will feel the richness of life in the Caribbean
and get a true sense of the genuine “joie
de vivre” that we are fortunate enough
to share (Jonathan Gladding, February, 2010).
For more information, please contact The Inner
Gallery at 457 8728 or visit www.theinnergallery.com.
Discuss
Story
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